After appearing on American Idol, Carrie Underwood's debut album Some Hearts became the bestselling album of 2006, partially due to some of its wildly successful singles. One of which is the ever-popular "Before He Cheats," a song of a woman seeking revenge on her unfaithful lover.
Songwriters Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins told The Boot that, initially, they had written the song for Gretchen Wilson.
"I went into my office that morning and began typing lyrics ... not even picking up a guitar or a pen or anything ... and I typed up that first verse," Tompkins recalled.
"I played him what I'd typed earlier. And without even talking about it, Josh just sang that chorus line, 'Maybe next time, he'll think before he cheats ...' So we just started talking about it from there."
Apparently, unlike typical writing sessions which can take days, Kear and Tompkins wrote the song in just two hours. Kear explained that once they got going on the lyrics, they started having fun with how angry the woman was getting over her cheating boyfriend.
Read More: Story Behind the Song: Carrie Underwood's Introductory Statement of Faith, 'Jesus, Take the Wheel'
"But when we were writing this song, I thought, 'Wow! If she knew this was going on inside the bar — which was what we already had laid out in that first verse — how would she react to that?' And that's when we thought, let's actually let her get pissed!"
Though the writers thought that the song was going to be a bit more lighthearted, Underwood brought her own take to the song, which country music fans loved. "Before He Cheats" became Underwood's third consecutive No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts as well as a massive country/pop crossover success. She brought home Grammy Awards for Country Song of the Year and Best Female Country Vocal Performance as well as a CMT Music Award and ACM Award for Music Video of the Year.
After releasing the song, Underwood admitted that she wouldn't actually vandalize anyone's property if they cheated on her. But she's probably got some cheating ex out there who is still watching his back for that Louisville Slugger.
"Before He Cheats" Lyrics
Right now, he's probably slow dancing
With a bleached-blond tramp
And she's probably getting frisky
Right now, he's probably buying
Her some fruity little drink
'Cause she can't shoot whiskey
Right now, he's probably up behind her
With a pool-stick
Showing her how to shoot a combo
And he don't know
I dug my key into the side
Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights
I slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats
Right now, she's probably up singing some
White-trash version of Shania karaoke
Right now, she's probably saying "I'm drunk"
And he's a-thinking that he's gonna get lucky
Right now, he's probably
Dabbing on three dollars
Worth of that bathroom Polo
Oh, and he don't know
That I dug my key into the side
Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights
I slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats
I might have saved a little trouble for the next girl
'Cause the next time that he cheats
Oh, you know it won't be on me!
No, not on me
'Cause I dug my key into the side
Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights
I slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats
Oh, maybe next time he'll think before he cheats
Oh, before he cheats
Oh
Now Watch: Country Music's Best Revenge Songs
